Ethnic differences in Indonesian anthropometry data: Evidence from three different largest ethnics

•In many countries, different ethnics show different anthropometric data.•We compare anthropometric data from three different large ethnics in Indonesia.•Ethnicity plays an important role in Indonesian anthropometric data.

Different ethnics may show different dimension on anthropometry. This study measures 1135 students from three different ethnics in Indonesia, all participated based on voluntarily basis, to see whether ethnicity is a significant factor in Indonesian anthropometric data. There were 632 Minangkabau students mostly located in Sumatera Island, 344 Javanese students mostly located in East and Central Java Island, and 157 Sundanese students mostly located in West Java. Results showed that most of mean dimensions and all of the bodily proportions have significant differences, both for male and female subjects. The implications for Indonesian anthropometric databases and design purposes are discussed.Relevance to industryTo enhance safety and comfort, design of equipments and facilities in Indonesia should take into account anthropometric differences in Indonesians ethnics. Failure to do so will imply in the less safe and comfort.